


Imperfections

by donutboye



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Insecurities, More characters to be added, no beta gang, oneshots, tfw u have Issues
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-05
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-18 00:14:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 838
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29849664
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/donutboye/pseuds/donutboye
Summary: Yellow knows she's never been perfect.
Kudos: 14





	Imperfections

The first time Yellow notices an imperfection, she’s less than a year old. 

Freshly emerged and wandering aimlessly across a dusky planet. Waiting. She knows what she is and she knows what she has to do. But she doesn't know where to go, where her subjects are, where her Diamond is. All she knows is glittering mountains and jagged gorges and walking forward. 

It’s hot. She doesn’t have the words yet to describe the feeling, but she knows that her environment is hostile. Her only company are the half dozen suns blazing above. She knows those are also the sources of the nigh-unbearable heat. But she can take it, she reasons. After all she’s been walking for awhile and her form is still holding up fine.

She sees a flash of light one day, far away from where she stands, and feels a flare of hope in the pit of her gem. The light is white. It’s her Diamond! 

She sprints towards it, each step churning clouds of scorched sand. For once the land in front of her looks flat and clear. The light gets brighter, her feet get surer, and with a push she surges forward across the expanse.

Only to sail headfirst over the side of a sheer cliff face, feet and hands flailing until she lands with an undignified thud on the ground. 

It’s the first time she screams and it definitely won’t be the last. She stomps and howls in rage. She stops. But the howl echos. And there’s another sound too, a shifting, cracking, breaking sound. She looks down to see the earth give way beneath her feet, and again she finds herself plummeting down. The air around her suddenly becomes liquid. 

She’s limp. Sinking in this river of molten gold. Her head tilts up towards the surface, hoping to catch a glimpse of the crack she made, the cliff face, the white light, anything but the bubbling sea of yellow around her. 

But she can’t see anything. She’s stuck and sinking and going nowhere faster. If she hadn’t stamped her foot, hadn’t fallen, hadn’t chased after something so carelessly, hadn’t let her excitement get the better of her….

If she hadn’t been so stupid. 

I’m so stupid. 

No wonder her Diamond hasn’t come for her. 

She closes her eyes and sighs in resignation. May as well just drift here forever, she thinks. She’s so deep that she can’t tell the difference between her limbs and the fluid around her. It’s all the same, sticky and hot and pressing on every inch of her form. 

Her body adapts without her consent, and for a moment she wishes it would just crush her. Crush her stupid gem into a thousand pieces. The pressure hurts but she knows she won’t break. She can’t break, no matter how much she wants to.

For the first time, tears slide out of the corners of her now distorted eyes.

She can't see her gem, but she can feel it. Burning bright and angry. It’s not fair, it’s not fair, it’s not fair. 

She gets angry, too. 

From far awhile, White observes. Several rotations had passed since the golden blur rushing towards her had disappeared from her line of sight. The Grand Diamond frowns, wondering where she went. 

She closes her eyes and focuses, mental tendrils gently creeping across the psychic plane to search for her diamond. At once she’s accosted by a torrent of feelings, some primal, some programmed, and some she knew she’d need to adjust. 

She reaches out a hand towards the distant gorge and curls her fingers into a fist. She yanks, and the earth shakes. 

In an instant, Yellow finds herself flying, flailing the same way she fell only this time up. The river surface, the crack, the canyon, all wiz by her face until she’s well above the surface. The descent is much gentler and she lands on her feet, covered in soot and gold, on the other side of the gorge. 

She’s too busy dusting herself off to notice the blindingly white being in front of her. 

“Hello, Sunlight. Seems you’ve had quite a rough time.”

Yellow freezes. A clawed hand gently cups her cheek. A thumb brushes at a dirty patch right beneath her eye. 

“It’s okay,” the voice coos. It’s gentle and dangerous and it's the best thing Yellow’s ever heard. “I’m here now, it’ll get better. Come along.”

The hand withdraws from her face to press against the small of her back, and Yellow finds herself being pushed towards a huge structure. A ship, she quickly realizes. 

She’s cleaned thoroughly. She’s praised for the cut of her gem. She’s tested on her purpose and answers come charging out of her mouth like soldiers. Single file and accurate. Her Diamond is pleased. 

But despite the sweet words and gentle touches, she can’t help but notice the slight edge in her Diamond’s gaze. Her Diamond is judging her. And she’s judged her to be flawed, but doesn’t comment.

Yellow already knows.


End file.
